7 tips for families cruising the Legend of the Seas

Royal Caribbean International

We spent 10 nights exploring Brunei, Philippines and Taiwan by sea to get the scoop for families on what will soon be Brisbane’s very own Legend of the Seas. Here are our top tips for making your own cruise legendary.

1. Take advantage of the excellent free kids' club
The children devoured their meals so they could be the first ones signed into the free kids' club.

Adventure Ocean kids club welcomes children aged three to 11 years old. Children are grouped into Aquanauts for three- to five-year-olds, Explorers for six- to eight-year-olds, and Voyagers for little ones aged nine to 11.

For once, we were able to enjoy kid-free time, knowing two young children were in the safe and capable hands of caring Youth Staff.

When our junior cruisers could no longer tolerate the humidity and ‘boring museums and churches’ of Manila, we were quick to return them to the air-conditioned sanctuary of the kids' club before setting out for one last look at the city.

Over at the Royal Babies and Tots Nursery, parents with kids aged between six months and three years can take advantage of child care for US $6 per hour (day) and US $8 per hour (night).

2. Join the fun family activities
Peruse the Cruise Compass newsletter early to find a range of family activities to participate in, including mini-golf tournaments, learn-to-rock-climb lessons, discounted video arcade games, outdoor family movies and family scavenger hunts. That’s if you can drag the kids from the pool.

3. Look out for connecting cabins Legend of the Seas offers staterooms with interconnecting doors, which can sleep between four and eight people in select cabins.

An internal door was unlocked for the duration of our cruise and connected our cabins 3006 and 3008, providing space to spread out and privacy once the kids were in bed.

As part of a fly-cruise package, the additional cost of the cabin worked out similar to a quad-share with free flights to the port of departure.

Legend of the Seas also offers staterooms that can sleep three or four family members in Pullman or sofa beds.

4. Be ready as early as possible for tenders
To avoid lengthy waits for tenders, it’s best if families rise early, be fed, changed, packed and ready to go by 8am. Have a parent queue up at Guest Services for a tender ticket to be one of the first groups to go to shore.

5. Pack reef shoes and snorkelling gear
If heading to island destinations, there are coral beaches that can cut little toes. It’s well worth investing in inexpensive snorkelling gear, wet suits and reef shoes before you leave.

6. Travel independently
Some of our best experiences we had was travelling around independently on shore days, zipping around on motorbike taxis or finding hidden beaches.

Research before you go, find out the best things to do, price estimates and getting to and from the attraction.

Often at the port there are guides waiting to escort families on private tours for a fraction of the price of the shore excursions onboard.

Negotiate the price, communicate clearly on where to and do not pay until you return back to the ship.

7. Find the free sweet treats
From unlimited self serve ice cream machines on the Lido Deck, cakes and desserts at Windjammers Buffet, and fresh baked cookies at Café Latte-tudes. Be sure to seek the free sweet treats onboard. Your kids will love you for it.

Together we roam's Rene Young has travelled to 70 countries. When the Brisbane based blogger is not discovering Brisbane's street art, exploring Queensland or roaming the world with her five-year old son and three-year old daughter, she can be found indulging her love of reality TV.